Content providers are increasingly offering content to subscribers of mobile wireless services. For example, mobile wireless service providers and others are offering wireless portals through which users of mobile devices can access content such as news, entertainment, and email services—the possibilities for content are endless. In addition, content providers that in the past have tailored their content for users of traditional web browsers are increasingly providing alternative formats for users of mobile devices.
The mobile devices of today, while much advanced, are typically small with limited input capabilities and navigation capabilities. For this reason, content intended for users of such devices is sometimes subject to special formatting and protocols. Another problem content providers struggle with is marketing their content to users of mobile devices. For example, because of the limited input/output capabilities of most wireless devices, it is difficult for the mobile end user to search for and identify new and interesting content. Very often, the best application or content is made known by “word of mouth.” For example, a friend or colleague may recommend a particular mobile application. In doing so, he or she has to remember and describe where the content was found, which may not always be easy or practical.
Users of personal computers have been known to share content by sending a URL via email. For example, a user can copy a URL from a web browser and email it to a friend, or use a “send to” feature provided by a web browser, which then imports the URL to a specially configured email application. The user then creates and addresses the email message and sends it to the friend. Because this method of sharing content involves multiple steps, multiple applications running on the user's device, and, possibly, complicated user input events such as “cutting and pasting,” it would be difficult to implement and use on mobile devices. Moreover, given the wide range of mobile devices, there is no way to assure that a particular application or link sent via email will be accessible from a user's particular mobile device. In addition, because users typically receive many emails and spend significant amounts of time opening and assessing the content of emails, sending links to content by email is not efficient. These are only some of the problems with sending and receiving URL, with respect to mobile devices, many others exist.